Brockton boy remembers slain friend by cheering others up

Thursday

"Mom? What kind of mom would hurt her babies?,'" 8-year-old David Rittenberg asked.

BROCKTON — When young David Rittenberg heard of his friend's tragic death on Monday, he immediately wondered how he could make the victim's family feel better.

"He laid down and he remembered one day Edson telling him in his first-grade class that he loved pink," David's mother, Debra Egan, said. "David said, 'Mom, how about we make a lot of pink cake for his family and all of this friends? Cake always makes me feel better.'"

Eight-year-old Edson Brito and his 5-year-old brother, Lason Brito, were found stabbed to death inside their family's apartment at 245 Prospect St. early Monday afternoon. Their mother, 43-year-old Latarsha Letrice Sanders, is charged in their deaths.

On Thursday evening, family, friends and community members gathered outside the home to hold a candlelight vigil in honor of the young boys.

That's where 8-year-old David handed out the cake he spent the past few days making.

At the vigil, he carried a pot around with cake slices inside of it. A white paper he attached to the outside of it read, "Cake for Edson. I will miss you buddy."

David, who is developmentally delayed, had been in class with Edson at the Louis F. Angelo Elementary School up until this year. They still shared time together at recess.

The family first heard about the boys' deaths after hearing helicopters close to their home on Monday. They then turned on the news and learned of the murders.

"All he kept asking was, 'Mom? What kind of mom would hurt her babies?,'" Egan said.

Then, on Tuesday, David learned that it was actually his friend who was killed.

"It wasn’t until the school had grief counselors come talk to the kids and he heard Edson's name," Egan said. "Still not being sure, he walked in with the letter and said, 'Mom, I think that lady killed my best friend and his little brother.'"

For David, he continues to cope with losing one of his best friends – and hopes the cake will put a smile on many faces.

"I'm proud of David for being strong, but also for caring so deeply about others," Egan said. "It comes easy when it comes to Edson for David because Edson never let David down. This is a way David feels he can never let Edson down."